The NEO Economy
Where the future of your business is being decided
Research by Social Intelligence Lab
Explore the NEO Economy, the mindset behind it, and what it means for the future of your business.
The NEO Economy
Which economy is your forecast built on?
In the United States, the NEO Economy accounts for US$9 trillion a year of consumption and 50.3 per cent of discretionary consumption. In Australia, it accounts for A$628 billion, compared with A$481 billion in the Traditional Economy, which has more than twice as many people.
United States · Four Seasons Private Residences, Denver
A NEO strategy helped the developer sell 90 per cent of the residences in six months during the Great Recession.
In Australia, in the supermarket aisle and the bank, more is spent in the NEO Economy than in the Traditional Economy.
“Upwards of 80% of our value was generated by the 40% of NEOs in our customer base.”
Scott Browning, former Marketing Director, JB Hi-Fi.
JB Hi-Fi made the NEO Economy its home.
An economy within the economy
The NEO Economy is home to consumers with a NEO mindset: people prepared to spend more, more frequently, on products and services they desire. The mindset is not an income band, an age group or a synonym for affluence. They start with quality, provenance, and the personal reward a purchase will provide.
In the NEO Economy, consumers notice price, but are desire-led rather than price-led.
The Traditional Economy is where people with a Traditional mindset spend, and for them, price is where a choice begins. Businesses make a great deal of money there, and serving it well takes real skill. But a forecast built around that economy alone risks overlooking where current and future value is concentrated.
The book
The NEO Economy: Where the Future of Your Business Is Being Decided
It is late, and the chief executive is still awake. It has been a good year, but one question will not go away: how much of this can we count on next year, and the year after that? The new book by Ross Honeywill, Jonathan Coles and Iain Good reveals where that answer lies.
Social Intelligence Lab · January 2027
Recent research
Report · Updated 5 November 2026
The US NEO Economy: population, income and consumption
US$9 trillion in annual consumption across the United States, including half of discretionary consumption.
Report · Updated 5 November 2026
The Australian NEO Economy: population, income and consumption
A$628 billion in annual consumption, with household income more than double that in the Traditional Economy.
Executive paper · Updated 5 November 2026
The NEO Economy: Where the Future of Your Business Is Being Decided
Four businesses in four markets, and what they found in the NEO Economy.
Applying the research
The NEO mindset classification is applied commercially through NEO OS at TheRightCustomer.com. It combines NEO mindset intelligence with Roy Morgan category evidence, AI agents, and expert human judgement. The operating system puts businesses in control of their future value decisions.
5.6 million people · 24% of Australians aged 14 and over
11.7 million people · 50% of Australians aged 14 and over
July 2025 to June 2026 · Sources: ABS; Roy Morgan Single Source.
Social Intelligence Lab
The NEO Economy The Book Research About Contact
NEO Economy is a registered trademark owned by The Honeywill Trust.
Research use and disclaimer
Attributed quotations are welcome. Other reproduction, adaptation or commercial exploitation of our original research materials requires prior written approval, except as permitted by law. Do not remove attribution, claim authorship or imply our endorsement. Publication grants no licence to our proprietary tools or methods. Findings are general information, not advice for a particular business; any application is at the user’s own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Social Intelligence Lab, its owner and contributors exclude liability for resulting loss.